Rose Fish Shoelaces
by Kanetsuki
Summary: A challenge from myself. This must be read in a poetic sort of way. And imagine it has the atmosphere of those days when everything is wet and dripping, and it's dark because there's no sun. But somehow that makes all the colours stand out like crazy, and


First off, **this is meant to be read in a poetic way** (it doesn't flow exactly like a normal story). Secondly, it was waaaay after midnight when I wrote it.  
I like to give myself challenges (which everyone is most welcome to take up - i'd love to see others' results). The theme words here were whatever popped into my head, and I pretty much ignored the word limit (i can't write short fics...).  
Disclaimer: Unless CLAMP decides to sell the series to me (pleasepleaseplease) I can safely say that I don't own it (for now... mwah ha ha)

Theme: rose, fish, shoelaces

Characters: Kudo Kazahaya, Himura Rikuo

Series: Lawful Drug

Limit: 300 (actual: 812)

It was raining.  
They were walking, out in the rain.  
Both of them would much rather have been inside, passing away the afternoon by teasing one and getting on the nerves of the other.  
But instead, they were out here, the two boys. Fair Kazahaya was complaining loudly each time a drop of water landed on him, which, considering they were out strolling around town aimlessly in the rain, was frequent.  
Eventually the tall Rikuo could take no more, and quietly sild off his jacket.  
A large drop of water hit the back of the smaller boy's neck and trailed all the way down his spine. The boy shivered.  
The tall boy noticed.  
Kazahaya started as something big and soft landed on his head.  
Peeking out from under a jacket, he turned to Rikuo in protest.  
The other boy was not even looking, his eyes fixed on something distant.  
And so, quietly, Kazahaya accepted the jacket, and the gesture.  
Sometimes, the boy thought, he isn't a jerk at all…..  
This time it was the fair haired boy, bundled in a jacket to large for him, that was lost in thought, while the dark haired boy silently stared at his companion. Slightly disappointed that his kind gesture had now all but hidden the other's elfin figure. Oh well.  
And soon they were there.  
The rain dripped down.  
Ripples on the surface of the pond.  
Koi swimming round, weaving around each other in a poetic and incomprehensible pattern, unaware of the rain.  
Unaware of the two boys looking down at them.  
"This is the pond."  
Kazahaya nervously dipped a hand in.  
"Wait! Baka." Rikuo growled. "We need something that connects us."  
The smaller boy bent down.  
He returned to standing position plus one shoe lace. This he tied around Rikuo's finger, his own slender fingers slipping in the wet. Tying the lace around his own finger would be improbable.  
Seeing this more easily than the other, Rikuo moved his hands so they were now the ones holding Kazahaya's.  
Both laces now tied, the smaller boy lent down to the water once again, unknowingly watched with anxious concern by his companion.  
The companion was right to be anxious.  
Kazahaya dipped his hand in the water.  
And plummeted towards the koi.  
Rikuo rushed to catch him, just like he always did. But this time he was too late.  
Too late.  
And he was left kneeling by a pond in the rain with half a shoelace.

A large dark haired boy was standing alone in the rain.  
He was staring through a rose bush.  
His mind swirled and beat down with the rain.  
Eventually something caught his eye. It was a rose. A deep, passionate red that seemed to make up the rose itself. It was covered in droplets of water, like glistening beads of glass.  
For some reason it made Rikuo think of Kazahaya.  
He wondered if Kazahaya had ever received such a thing before.  
He had wondered this before, on the walk over. The roses had caught his eye as they walked past. He had been wondering if Kazahaya would have accepted more than a jacket from him.  
A boy stood in the rain looking at roses and wondering.  
And so he waited.

A small pale boy shivered in the rain.  
He was completely drenched.  
He saw a familiar figure standing by a rose bush and made towards it.  
The figure turned around, revealing itself to be none other than Rikuo.  
They seemed to be separated by an infinity, but by sheer will, shortened it to mere seconds.  
Rikuo wrapped Kazahaya's sodden form in a warm embrace. Held tightly, Kazahaya clung to the other boy.  
And when they were done, the boy with dark hair leant back and smirked, just like he was supposed to.  
And the boy with fair hair responded with an annoyed blush, just like he was supposed to.  
"What's that?" Kazahaya asked suddenly. He was looking at what Rikuo held in his hand.  
It was a rose. A rose so red it made Aphrodite herself jealous. It was covered in a million twinkling drops of water.  
"It's nothing." Replied Rikuo, dropping it to the ground.  
He turned to go.  
Behind his back, Kazahaya bent down and picked up the fallen rose.  
Then they were walking home again, side by side. Kazahaya was shivering now, despite the jacket. Although the jacket was more of a hindrance now, heavy with the weight of water. Rikuo supposed that had been the connection. Perhaps it had been the gesture that linked the two of them.  
He walked on, unaware of the true link between them. The string that had been tied to their fingers all along.  
Invisible to all but those who can see the red strings of fate.  
Rikuo stared at the jacket. It now had a pattern on it.  
A pattern of koi.


End file.
